The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, on Tuesday donated motorised modular fumigators to the governments of Delta, Edo States, and the Pest Control Association of Nigeria, in support the efforts being made to control the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
The Elejesi of Ife land, Oba Babatunde Awosunle, who led other members of Ooni COVID-19 team, to the Government House in Benin, announced the donation.
Ooni said the donation was to complement the state government response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moses Olafare, director, media and public affairs of the Onion’s COVID-19 team presented the motorized fumigators to the state government on behalf of the traditional ruler.
According to him, we have finished the distribution within the South-West part of the country. We are starting the second phase of the exercise, which is the South-South. This is what we have started in Edo State and we know the relationship between Edo and Ile- Ife, which is why we are here.
“We decided to donate two Motorised Modular Fumigators (MMFs) to the state. We invented and fabricated the machine at the palace of the Ooni of Ife, to complement the effort of state governments in collectively fighting against the deadly disease,” he said.
Olafare who said the monarch is ready to collaborate with the state government on campaigns to fumigate different flashpoints in the state, noted that the exercise would be supported by drone service.
Also, speaking, Princess Kemi Fadojutimi, another member of the Ooni COVID-19 Team assured that the active agent used for the fumigation is not harmful to humans.
The State deputy governor, Philip Shaibu,who received the items thanked the Ooni of Ife for the generous donation as well as applauded the fumigators which are locally made.
Making the donation to PECAN, the Monarch charged
corporate organisations including banks to disinfect their offices so as to contain the spread of COVID-19.
The fumigators were received on behalf of PECAN by its president, Kunle Williams along with other executives of the association, in Ikeja, Lagos.
Ogunwusi charged the association to ensure that the fumigators were put into best use, noting that the items were in continuation of his ongoing efforts to stop the virus from claiming more lives in the country.
According to the monarch, COVID-19 is real and hovering all over the world. “I think there is the need to introduce other measures to fight and control the pandemic from causing grave damage to humanity.
“We are all fighting what we cannot see with our naked eyes. It is much more difficult to fight a pandemic that we cannot see.A lot of people, even in Nigeria; still don’t believe that the virus is real. May be because they cannot see what we are fighting,” he said.
The Ooni said it was about time people started taking the pandemic serious, adding that disinfection of offices and the environment was a key in halting the continued spread of the virus.
“The government should put a law in place; as they are mandating us to wear face masks; they should mandate basic disinfection of the environment to prevent the spread of the
“In my own little way, from House of Oduduwa, I have donated these small machines,” urging PECAN to offer free services their own little way.
Peju Esimai, a professor of public health and head of department of public health, Obafemi Awolowo University, who accompanied the monarch, said the motorised modular fumigators were more effective than the hand-held fumigators being deployed by some state governments.
Williams, president of PECAN, thanked the Ooni for donation and promised it would be judiciously deployed to fight the pandemic.
“The reality is that COVID-19 is here, we all just need to learn to live safely. We at PECAN have been partnering and are still partnering with the government to sensitise people on how to decontaminate and disinfect,” Williams said.
Slug: Ile-Ife monarch supports Delta with motorised modular fumigators to fight COVID–19
Ile-Ife monarch, Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II, Tuesday, supported Delta State Government in its fight against Corona virus (COVID–19) in the state, by donating two motorised modular fumigators to her.
The fumigators were invented by the House of Oduduwa and fabricated at the Ooni palace in Ile-Ife with 100 per cent locally-sourced materials, said the monarch.
Ogunwusi who presented the fumigators through his media and public affairs aide, Moses Olapare,, said: “We have watched your proactive approach to the fight against the pandemic in Delta and I must say that we are pleased with every step you have taken so far”.
“This is why we are committed to working with government by making this donation, because together we can fight the battle and together we shall win the battle,” he stated.
The monarch noted that leaders both at federal and state levels of the country had done very well in the fight against the virus, hence the decision to complement their efforts. That’s why we came up with this innovations for motorized modular fumigators, he explained.
He expressed belief that the era when monarchs sit in the comfort zone of their palaces and expect the government to do it all was over.
Receiving the equipment, on behalf of the state Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chiedu Ebie, thanked the Ooni for his thoughtfulness and innovation in the production of the motorised fumigators.
He reeled out the various measures put in place to ensure that COVID-19 was contained in the state and called for further and cooperation to fight the pandemic.
He thanked the monarch for his thoughtfulness to come up with the innovative fumigators and for going around the states to donate them, adding that it would go a long way in the fight against COVID-19
